Killer husband: riends of Joanna Simpson reflect on release of wife-murderer Robert Brown

Joanna Simpson (circled right), vibrant, beautiful, talented and much loved by her wide circle of friends, was killed in cold blood by her estranged husband Robert Brown, who bludgeoned her to death with a claw-hammer at her home, within earshot of their children Alex, then ten, and Katie, nine. Weeks before he killed Joanna, Brown, a BA pilot, had dug her grave in remote woodland at Windsor Great Park. Directly under the Heathrow flight path, he buried a plastic garden box which became his wife's makeshift coffin. He hit Joanna at least 14 times on the head with the hammer he'd hidden in the children's school bag - Katie later described the 'bang, bang, bang' she heard from her playroom - after he had returned the children from an access visit on Halloween 2010. Brown had, you may deduce, planned the killing meticulously - but, extraordinarily, a jury acquitted him of murder and he was sentenced to 26 years for manslaughter instead. Yet in November, in as little as eight weeks' time - after serving just 13 years in prison - Brown, 59, is due for release. #dailymail #truecrime #uknews Original Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12506755/No-woman-safe-hammer-killer-BA-pilot-let-prison.html Original Video: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-3012885/Close-friends-Joanna-Simpson-reflect-release-killer-husband.html Daily Mail Homepage: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ Daily Mail Facebook: https://facebook.com/dailymail Daily Mail IG: https://instagram.com/dailymail Daily Mail Snap: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/Daily-Mail/8392137033 Daily Mail Twitter: https://twitter.com/MailOnline Daily Mail Pinterest: https://pinterest.co.uk/dailymail Get the free Daily Mail mobile app: https://dailymail.co.uk/mobile